When you focus on something, you concentrate your energy on that one thing. When you focus on winning, you play a sport mainly to win. You do not play the sport for fun or to learn something. Winning is the most important thing: Notice the following:

At the professional level, there is a huge focus on winning.

Because he only focused on winning, sports became a job and he no longer enjoyed it.

When something is counterproductive that means it serves a purpose, but at the cost of something else. For example, if you stay up studying all night for a test, it can be counterproductive because the next day you will be too tired to remember anything or be able to focus on the test.

It is counterproductive to eat fast-food after exercising.

It is counterproductive to take a course that is too difficult for you. You will not learn very much.

When you cop out of something, you try to get out of or evade doing it. People are expecting you to do something, but you elect not to do it often for another reason, such as an injury or some type of excuse. For example, if you are playing soccer and losing badly, and then ask to stop playing because you are tired, then you cop out. Notice the following:

He copped out of class because he did not do the homework.

He copped out of going to work because his child was sick, even though his wife could stay home and take care of his daughter.